Conserve

FIRST IN RI TO PARTICIPATE IN GROUNDBREAKING

RECYCLING EFFORT

WATCH HILL EAST BEACH ASSOCIATION PARTNERS WITH

NJ RECYCLING FIRM AND PROCTER & GAMBLE

Watch Hill, RI - JULY 12, 2017

Employees of the East Beach Association have been dutifully collecting left behind and washed up litter on a daily basis during the summer, and the amount seems to growing. Much of the plastic, too contaminated, or not appropriate to recycle, has in the past been sent to the landfill.

Board members of the Association recently opted for a positive change. According to EBA president, Peter Brockmann: “Enough is enough, there is too much plastic on the beach. It’s increasing and we need to find alternative solutions to the beach plastic problem. We decided to partner with TerraCycle’s unique program to address this issue. We are the first beach in Rhode Island to participate and we hope others will follow.”

Trash collection is funded by the East Beach Association through private donors. Once collected and separated, the plastic will be picked up and sent to a specialized recycling facility in New Jersey. There, the plastic will be washed, shredded, and then pelletized. These plastic pellets, which were once polluting Watch Hill’s East Beach, will be melted and molded into the world’s first recyclable shampoo bottles made from beach plastic. Brockmann adds: “ We are proud to be part of this groundbreaking program, along with Procter & Gamble and TerraCycle, in the effort to keep this material off the beach and out of the landfill. These plastics will now have a new, productive life and, hopefully, continue to be recycled."

The EBA is a group of local residents whose mission is the care, maintenance and preservation of Watch Hill's East Beach.

More on TerraCycle® program here:

Founded in 2001, TerraCycle, Inc., is the world’s leader in the collection and repurposing of hard-to-recycle post-consumer waste, ranging from used chip bags to coffee capsules to cigarette butts. The waste is collected through free, national, brand-funded recycling programs, as well as various consumer and government-funded models. The collected waste is reused, upcycled or recycled into a variety of affordable, sustainable consumer products and industrial applications. Each year, across 21 countries, TerraCycle collects and repurposes billions of pieces of waste, donating millions of dollars to schools and charities in the process. To learn more about TerraCycle or get involved in our recycling programs, please visit www.terracycle.com.